Judge Abhijit Gangopadhya of the Calcutta High Court, who recently declared his retirement and stated he would join the BJP, has once again brought attention to former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s claim that decisions made prior to retirement are impacted by employment held after retirement. Given the number of well-known judges on the list, Justice Gangopadhya is not the first judge to enter politics.
KS Hegde
He started practicing law in 1933 and served as a public prosecutor and government leader from 1947 to 1951. In 1952, Hegde, a candidate for the Congress Party, was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Hegde was an upper-house member until 1957. Hegde left the Rajya Sabha in 1957 after being named a judge of the Mysore High Court. On the Janata Party ticket, he was elected to the Sixth Lok Sabha in 1977 from the Bangalore South constituency, where he was appointed Speaker.
Islam Baharul
Six weeks ahead of his planned retirement, former Supreme Court judge Baharul Islam made a dramatic career change by stepping down. He entered politics in 1983, running as a Congress candidate from Barpeta, Assam, in the Lok Sabha election. He had a brief political career prior to this, having been elected as a Congress candidate to the Rajya Sabha on April 3, 1962, and winning a second term in 1968.
Justice Krishna VR
On November 15, 1915, in Palakkad, in the Malabar region of then-Madras State, V. R. Krishna Iyer was born. In 1956 he was first elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly. Following the state reorganization, he was appointed as a Minister in the Kerala Assembly, where he oversaw key portfolios like social welfare, law, and home.
Hidayatullah Mohammad
On December 17, 1905, Justice Md. Hidayatullah was born in Betul, which was then part of the Central Province, along with Berar. On June 24, 1946, he was named Additional Judge of the Central Province and Berar High Court. On September 13, 1946, he was named a Permanent Judge of the High Court. He was named chief justice of the MP high court in December 1954. In addition to serving as Vice President, he presided over the country in 1982.
Mishra Rangnath
In 1969, Justice Ranganath Misra was named to the Orissa High Court as a Permanent Judge. On November 6, 1980, he was promoted to the position of acting Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.
Rao Koka Subba
On June 30, 1966, Koka Subba Rao, a former Chief Justice of India, took over as CJI. He received an invitation from the Swatantra Party in 1967 to run as the United Opposition’s nominee for the Indian presidential election.
Ranjan Gogoi
The birthdate of Ranjan Gogoi is November 18, 1954. On February 28, 2001, he was named a Haryana High Court judge. On March 16, 2020, the then-President Ram Nath Kovind nominated him, and he currently serves as a member of the Rajya Sabha.